A Matter of Character: on Energy & Oil

George W. Bush: Kyoto Treaty is the “emperor with no clothes”

Bush would have none of that. If there was anything he hated, it was charades. He forthrightly announced he would not support the treaty and would instead devote funds to study how to reduce global warming through less drastic measures, including building more environmentally friendly vehicles.

“The emperor Kyoto was running around for a long time, and he was naked,” Andy Card said. “It took President Bush to say, ‘The guy doesn’t have any clothes on.’” European nations, in particular, were incensed that Bush rejected the Kyoto treaty. The French environment minister called it a “scandal.” Yet none of those countries had agreed to honor the treaty.